Page 22 of My Monster's Keeper
Puppy is the first to grab a piece. He licks it and narrows his eyes as if he’s thinking and then shoves the entire piece in his mouth and chews stubbornly.
Gradually, they start eating, and then they keep going until all the food is gone. I make a mental note to increase the volume of food.
“That was pleasant, human,” Frost says in a haughty voice. “Pizza was a good idea.” He stands up and walks out of my room.
Wilder hums and glances longingly at my mousse. I slide it in his direction. His stern expression folds, and he almost looks human. He snatches it and gets up, his powerful legs moving him out of my room in seconds.
I did not look at his ass.
Stix looks at me and then at Puppy. The overgrown pain in my ass is currently curled up on the stack of cardboard boxes, for all intents and purposes, sleeping happily.
I pack up the mess and hesitate when Stix grips my hands.
“Tomorrow, Diablos has asked for us to take you out into the city and show you what we can do.”
“I’ve seen what you can do.”
He shrugs. “Kind of. But we need to make some kind of, uh, how do you say it, an act or a show for the boss?”
“Why?”
“He’s concerned you’ll panic and freeze or run in a crucial moment.”
I close my eyes and curse the entire world for landing me in this position. “So, this is a test?”
He puts his thumb and his index finger a tiny bit apart. “A little test.”
“Hey, Puppy, do you want a room full of boxes?”
The dragon man sits up and whips his head towards me. I pull out my phone.
“What are you doing?” Stix asks.
“Retail therapy,” I snarl and start ordering more deliveries.
Stix urges me up and gets me to follow him as he takes the rubbish away, and then we return to my room. I go into the bathroom and get changed and then come out and crawl into bed. Puppy is still in his corner, the tip of his tail twitching.
I ignore him and hug a pillow.
“That man that died, the one those men shot. Who was he?”
I stay silent, unsure whether to answer it or not, and, finally, I whisper the answer back. “He was my brother.”
I don’t know if Stix heard or not, but he shifts closer, and his arm wraps around my back, holding me close. I pretend I can’t feel the eyes from the other side of the room.
Chapter 7
Stix
I’m the only one who showed up. I clasp my hands behind my back and eye the diminutive woman beside me. She keeps her eyes scanning our surroundings, her muscles are tense, she’s ready to attack or flee. Hunting behaviour in an insecure environment. Impressive.
My appreciation for her goes up.
Not that it can go much higher. The second I saw her, I felt like I was hit with a thousand sunbeams. I felt exposed. I don’t regret sending the team in to destroy those who hurt her. Not even a little bit. Though, I will have to play this carefully. The Fae won’t hesitate to use her against me, and Puppy will eat her if he even thinks that I value her life. It isn’t our way to be kind to each other. It is, in fact, our way to use whatever weakness we can gather and tear each other apart. Life is war.
And I try to regret the fact that she is now embroiled in this war with us, but I can’t tear myself away from her side in order to think clearly. I’m a selfish nightmare. I know that’s true, but I’m loyal.
I’m loyal to her. She doesn’t know it yet, but I would walk into an oncoming army of nightmare demons on my knees for her. Diablos says she’s not an omega, but he’s wrong. I don’t care if she doesn’t have the smells or any other markers. I know she’s mine.
